Better a Real Roll than a Fake Bagel

I've always loved a good bagel. I like to chew, and a good boiled first then baked bagel needs heavy chewing.  It's very hard to find a real bagel nowadays, because many bagel places use this new-fangled steam spritz rather than proper boiling.

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I needed a quick lunch. We were in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and went to the Holy Bagel. I have a soft spot for Holy Bagel, since the owners, or first owners bought the Beit HaBagel, Bagel House from a friend of ours, and I had worked there many years ago. I wanted to like the sandwich.

We asked the kid working there if they were real bagels, because they looked too "fluffy."

"Of course they're real. I baked them," said the kid.
"Hmm.. really? They don't look real."

And they weren't. I should have just looked for another place to eat, but we were in a rush. There was no way he could make the bagels, real bagels there. The boiling needs extra equipment.

Close to twenty years ago the original Bonkers Bagels owners brought the first "steam bagel" machinery to Israel, and a whole generation of kids have grown up thinking those puffy things with the consistency of oatmeal are real bagels, but they're not.

If it's not a real bagel I'd rather have a roll, and sandwiches on rolls cost less than bagel sandwiches, too!

Bye, bye bagels, bye, bye...

Grabbing a Sandwich at The "Holy Bagel"

At the tail end of a busy day in Jerusalem, rushing to Talpiyot to buy a hat, visiting with the chattan and callah (engaged couple) in Jerusalem and then to the Kotel, plus other things, I suddenly felt that I was fading rapidly.  Oops! It was dinner time and we hadn't eaten much all day.  So my sister-in-law and I rushed into the main (original) branch of "Holy Bagel,"  near Jerusalem's Central Bus Station, 220 Jaffa Street.

Actually, I once knew the place well, when it was "Beit HaBagel," The Bagel House.  I used to work there being in charge of the department that sold ready-made bagel sandwiches, pastries, drinks and salads to office buildings.  I also did the selling in Har Chotzvim.

 

I chose what they called a "whole wheat" bagel.  It seemed too soft to have been boiled then baked, the classic New York bagel way.  But it was shiny.  I didn't ask; I was too tired.  I had it filled with tuna salad and lots of fresh greens.  It was satisfying and really saved me.  My sister-in-law had hers filled with cheese and salad.  It was a good thing we ate when we did, because we got home very late.  Service was fine and there was a nice variety of fillings.

Siyata D'Shmaya and Lunch Bargain

Yesterday I just had to get out.

Sunday is a day off, and we had been snowed in for most of last week.
I had an important "assignment," to get prices of the medications my parents need. I was hoping that the "mitzvah" would facilitate my travel. I needed the help, since we don't have a 9am bus. It's either around 8am, too early, or 10:30, too late.

Before leaving, I hung out two washes and planned on returning home on the 3:30pm bus at the latest, so I could take in the wash before the dusk humidity dampened it all.

By the time I got out, it was almost 9:30, the worst time for rides and a full hour before the next bus. Being Sunday, I also knew that there would be lots of competition for rides, if any car did leave.

Miracle! Before I got to the bus stop neighbors stopped their car, "Jerusalem? Get in!" If I had left my house a minute earlier or a minute later, I wouldn't have gotten that ride!

Bonus! First thing they asked when I got in was:

"Where is -- sitting shiva?"

Oops! I had forgotten that I had wanted to copy the address and visit (pay a condolence call) her. So we werent there before I checked out medicine prices.

Jerusalem looked gorgeous, post snow.

I walked and walked. It was time to eat lunch. I decided to budget myself a maximum of ns20. I wasn't in the area of cheap sandwich places. I also didn't have water with me, not smart. Finally, I made it to downtown Jerusalem and decided to try out the Holy Bagel. I peeked into the "old one" but decided to try the new one near Sambooki. Of course, I wouldn't go to Sambooki, since they didn't give me olive oil last time.

So I went into the new Holy Bagel. A worker was cleaning away "something" from one of the cream cheeses. That was a turn-off. Then I checked out the tuna. It had some of those, I've been sitting out a long time brown spots on the top. Puke! I figured that the girl was clearing a sign of "unfreshness" from the cheese, and to think she was doing it by the front door meant that Holy Bagel is off my list. So I continued walking.

I checked out the Cafe Hillel and noticed the sign for their "Red Box Breakfast Special." At ns19.99, it qualified for my ns20 budget. It's a great deal and like many "breakfasts" served all day. I had a tuna sandwich, a yogurt drink, cup of coffee and some olives. It was a "to go," so I couldn't eat there, but it was really a full meal. I had the yogurt later, on the bus home.